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Analysis of Harlem by Langston Hughes
Through the turbulent decades of the 1920's through the 1960's many of the black Americans went through difficult hardships and found comfort only in dreaming. Those especially who lived in the ghettos' of Harlem would dream about a better place for them, their families, and their futures. Langston Hughes discusses dreams and what they could do in one of his poems, "Harlem." Hughes poem begins: "What happens to a dream deferred..."
Hughes is asking what happens to a dream that is being put off. What do these dreams do, do they do good, do they do bad, or do they do neither good nor bad? He continues by stating this simile:"Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?" Using this simile he is stating that dreaming can be good or bad. A raisin is a grape that has been dehydrated by the sun. Hughes is conveying that dreams can suck the life out of a person, mentally dehydrating them. However a raisin is not necessarily bad. When the grape is dehydrated by the sun it turns the grape into a raisin, a sweet and delightful friut which can furnish ...
Langston Hughes was an African American poet who emerged during the Harlem Renaissance. The Harlem Renaissance strongly influenced most of Langston Hughes’s writing. In such works as “Dream”, “Still Here”, “Dream Deferred”, and “Justice” you see the clear messages that are trying to be voiced through his work.
R: Comprone, Raphael. 2005. Poetry, Desire, And Fantasy in the Harlem Renaissance. University Press of America 2005
James Mercer who we all knew as Langston Hughes, was born in Joplin, Missouri February 1, 1902. Right after Hughes was born his parents James Hughes and Carrie Langston, decided to separate. His father went his way and his mother she moved around a lot so his maternal grandmother raised him. Mary, Hughes grandmother had an impact that influenced him into writing poetry. After his grandmother passed he eventually went to stay with his mother where they got settled in Ohio. Hughes began writing poetry throughout his years in high school.
At the point when Langston Hughes left his local Midwest to go to Columbia College in 1921, he was amped up for his new school 's area in the Harlem group. Hughes had effectively found out about a spot that was the "Negro capital of the world," and he realized that if at any time he needed to be an essayist, his profession would need to start in Harlem. Hughes would get to be one of the significant figures in the New Negro Renaissance—or Harlem Renaissance, as it is recognizably known. After his entry, he would never call wherever else home, and from multiple points of view Hughes encapsulates what the Renaissance implied and what it permitted. Today his living arrangement at 20 East 127th Road keeps on pulling in youthful authors focused on
Langston Hughes is known for his contribution to the Harlem Renaissance and poetry. His poetry revealed the dignity and beauty in ordinary black life. His poetry made him one of the innovators of Jazz poetry. He is the very first African American writer in America to earn a living from writing. He writes about speaking out against the racial oppression he witnessed around him and how he was proud to be an African American.
During the 1920's and 30’s, America went through a period of astonishing artistic creativity, the majority of which was concentrated in one neighborhood of New York City, Harlem. The creators of this period of growth in the arts were African-American writers and other artists. Langston Hughes is considered to be one of the most influential writers of the period know as the Harlem Renaissance. With the use of blues and jazz Hughes managed to express a range of different themes all revolving around the Negro. He played a major role in the Harlem Renaissance, helping to create and express black culture. He also wrote of political views and ideas, racial inequality and his opinion on religion. I believe that Langston Hughes’ poetry helps to capture the era know as the Harlem Renaissance.
With great dreams comes great sacrifices and the ultimate sacrifice is putting that dream on hold. There are many situations that get in the way that force individuals to step away from their dreams and take care of their personal issues. Everyone has the aspiration to fulfill their dreams, but sometimes dreams are set aside for various reason, and some people never return to continue fulfillment. In the poem Harlem, Hughes writes, “Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?” (Hughes). One of the many sacrifices when in search of the American Dream or any dream in general is the potential of it being put off. Like Langston Hughes says, the dream may dry up like a raisin in the sun, but in actuality the dream is never lost, the remnants are still there. It is simply set aside so when the time is right to continue on with the dream the individual can pick up where they left off. As the dream sits on hold it loses its importance, or it dries up. Putting off a dream is one of the biggest sacrifices someone could make no matter the circumstance. People are sacrificing what their lives could have potentially been. Hughes talks about all of the feelings that come with putting off a dream and describes what could potentially happen to a differed dream. Ultimately, the poem is about the sacrifice of giving up this American Dream and choosing a different
After the Civil War won the black people their freedom, it seemed as though their dreams of great opportunities were finally going to come true. However, they were met by even more obstacles, which left the blacks to wonder if their dreams had any chance of occurring, or if they should just give up. In his poem, “Harlem,” Langston Hughes used increasingly destructive imagery to present his warning of what will happen if you delay working towards your goal.
The main point, Langston Hughes is trying to make is that this is not what he believes what the Harlem Renaissance was supposed to be. To put this into more context, the Harlem Renaissance, during the era of the “Roaring 20s”, should have seen the advancement of African Americans in both rights and culture. However, it was instead an artistic movement from the Whites who enjoyed the rise of African American culture originating in Harlem, New York. On the same token, Hughes believed this is not what the “New Negro” persona should have became. One notable example, Hughes uses is the Cotton Club on Lenox Avenue. He claims that the place had turned into “... a Jim Crow club for gangsters and monied whites”,
Revolutions have occurred since the dawn of time - it is common sense that when people do not get what they want, they will try to forcefully obtain it. These revolutions were caused for a multitude of reasons: for example, the longing for freedom, opposition to the current government, or because people were discontent with their current standard of living. Many revolutions did have one aspect in common, though: they were extremely violent and often led to the deaths of thousands of people. However, in the 1900s, a mostly nonviolent revolution appeared: the fight for racial equality. It was fronted mainly by people who fought against oppression through words and art. Although working in different mediums, the three artists and activists Aaron
What does it mean to have a dream? Is it a foolish notion fueled by impulsive desires? Or is it a goal that makes life worth living? In the works of Langston Hughes,—“Mother to Son”, “Dream Deferred”, and “As I Grew Older”—he explores the very essence of what it means to have a dream. The presence of literary devices such as: imagery, motif, and an extended metaphor, clearly alludes to his personal struggles, which made him to question the merit of his dreams. The speaker emphasizes how the obstacles in-between ourselves and our dreams are a natural component of life as well as highlighting the importance of persevering otherwise, our dreams can and will wither away.
“Harlem” by Langston Hughes opened the doors to African American art. Throughout history there has been a lot of issues with racial inequality. During the Harlem Renaissance, many African Americans wanted to prove they were just as intelligent, creative, and talented as white Americans. Langston Hughes was one of the people who played an influential part in the Harlem Renaissance; his poem “Harlem” painted a very vivid picture of his life and his outlook in the society he lived in.
Langston Hughes was an activist for the African-American community and made significant artistic contributions to the Harlem Renaissance throughout his career. In one of his most famous poems, “Harlem [Dream Deferred]”, he addresses the limitations and oppression of African Americans after the Great Depression. Many African Americans dreamed of equality, but often times that dream became neglected and pushed aside. In his poem, Hughes responds to a question about a deferred dream with a series of vivid similes, inquiring what happens to a constantly ignored dream.
Racial tension The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement where African American poets were writing about the racial tension they experience. Most poems came from Harlem and were about the injustices and pride the black community felt. One famous poet was Langston Hughes. Hughes' works were about the African American life starting in the twenties. Langston Hughes was the best writer of the Harlem Renaissance.
“Harlem” by Langston Hughes is a poem that talks about what happens when we postpones our dreams. The poem is made up of a series of similes and it ends with a metaphor. The objective of the poem is to get us to think about what happens to a dream that is put off, postponed; what happens when we create our very own shelve of dreams? The “dream” refers to a goal in life, not the dreams we have while sleeping, but our deepest desires. There are many ways to understand this poem; it varies from person to person. Some may see this poem as talking about just dreams in general. Others may see it as African-American’s dreams.